


the real ladybug

by maketea



Series: fictober 2019 [5]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Fictober 2019, Kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-05
Packaged: 2020-11-24 18:10:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20911919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maketea/pseuds/maketea
Summary: apropos of hawk moth’s new tactics, ladybug tries teaching chat noir the difference between the real ladybug and a fake one.





	the real ladybug

**Author's Note:**

> fictober day 5: “i might just kiss you.”

“This is getting dangerous,” Ladybug said, snapping her yo-yo back into her hand. “Hawk Moth knows he can use your feelings against us.”

Chat Noir took a dreary seat on the rooftop. He was still shaking after that battle. She couldn’t blame him — Ladybug’s copycats (copy _ bugs _ was the joke she hoped Chat Noir would make) were getting more and more accurate. That one had even called him ‘kitty’ before leaning in for his Miraculous — or, in his eyes, a kiss. Ladybug almost crashed into a billboard while watching Alya’s footage, and had to stop to take a deep breath and gather her bearings.

It was all a little too realistic. 

“I can’t control how I feel, Ladybug,” he said bitterly. “Believe me when I said I’ve tried.”

Ladybug sighed, and sat beside him.

Controlling your feelings wasn’t easy — if it was, Marinette would probably have watched a movie with Adrien without funny glasses or a towel on. Hawk Moth was being unfair, but a super villain didn’t fuss over fairness. At least nobody knew about Adrien — well, nobody knew about _ Ladybug  _ and Adrien. Hawk Moth didn’t want anything to do with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, so no Adrien sentimonsters with puckered lips were chasing after  _ her _ Miraculous.

She put a hand on Chat Noir’s shoulder. “I don’t want you to control your feelings.”

He whipped his head around.

“I—I mean—” Ladybug snatched her hand back. “I’m not expecting you to do that. not that I don’t think you can, because I’m sure you can! But it just wouldn’t be fair, you know? That’s what I meant.”

Perhaps Hawk Moth could use someone other than Adrien against her, too.

“Besides, those fakes aren’t even good fakes. I act nothing like them!” She waved the air dismissively.

Chat Noir shrugged, squinting at a passing car’s headlights. “They can be pretty convincing.”

“Uh-uh. No  _ way _ .”

“Oh yeah? What’s the big difference between the real Ladybug and a fake one?”

She thought about it for a second. “First of all, the real Ladybug doesn’t think with her heart.”

“Really?”

“Of course.” She tapped her temple. “Fake Ladybugs can’t think.”

At that, Chat Noir rocked back against the ridge and laughed. He pulled his knee up to his chest. “Okay. What else?”

Ladybug pulled her knees up, too. This wasn’t too bad of a finish to a bad battle, and most importantly, Chat Noir didn’t seem as beaten up as before.

She held up a knowledgeable finger. “The real Ladybug always focuses on the battle first.”

“I don’t need to be told  _ that _ twice.”

“She won’t laugh at your jokes if there’s an akuma.”

“Interesting.” He grinned at her. “I think I’d rather have a fake Ladybug, then.”

She elbowed him. “Hey!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding!” He was smiling, which she took as a good sign. “Anyway, don’t let me interrupt you.”

The first fake Ladybug was painfully obvious — not even Hawk Moth could cover up the rich smell of a wax statue — but they’d become so elaborate since then. Newsreels from that day’s battle had confused viewers commenting strings of question marks and exclamation points and ‘are Ladybug and Chat Noir really dating?’ Though it wasn’t hard to believe the rest of Paris didn’t see many differences, Ladybug herself was finding less and less, too.

Then, in a lightbulb moment, she snapped her fingers. “The real Ladybug will  _ not  _ try to kiss you. As soon as you see me trying to kiss you, push me away. It isn’t the real me.”

He scrunched up his nose. “I don’t believe that.”

“Of course you wouldn’t.” Her standpoint may have been a little stronger a few months ago, but that wasn’t something she was about to get into right at that minute. 

“Okay, so, Dark Cupid,” he said matter-of-factly, “was that a fake Ladybug?”

She put one hand behind her to steady herself on the ridge. “N-no.”

“Interesting,” he said again, and rubbed his chin. “And what about Oblivio?”

“I don’t remember Oblivio. Neither of us do.”

“But was it the real Ladybug?”

Of course it was the real Ladybug. Her Miraculous Ladybug did a fantastic job in erasing their memories, but didn’t quite fix that sweet warmth deep in her chest until after she opened her eyes.

It was a rather nice warmth, she had to admit. One that she’d been getting used to, recently.

“Okay, point taken,” she conceded. “I might  _ just _ kiss you. But I won’t tell you I’m in love with you.” She hoped that the setting sun hid her blush well enough. 

“Oh, My Lady, I thought we said we wouldn’t keep secrets from each other.”

“I’m as open as a superhero can get, Chat Noir.” She crossed her arms. “Only a fake Ladybug would confess her love to you.”

“Oh yeah?” Chat Noir leaned in close.

She held her breath, and yet, in an act of determination only the real Ladybug could ever do, met his lidded gaze with hers. “Yeah.”

For a while, he didn’t move. Nor did she. Ladybug sat, legs tight together, completely still, breath bottled up in her lungs until she thought they might have burst.

Finally, he relented. “So, fake Ladybug thinks with her heart and is in love with me, but both real  _ and _ fake Ladybug might kiss me.”

“The real one won’t do it  _ often _ .”

“How will I know if it’s real?” He grabbed her arm emphatically. “What if there’s a fake Ladybug who thinks things through, doesn’t laugh at my jokes, won’t tell me she loves me, but  _ does _ kiss me? And I think it’s you because of everything you just said?”

“W-well,” she tried, “that’s very unlikely.”

“How do you know? Hawk Moth is one smart cookie.”

“Stop drawing circles around me!”

“Me?” Scandalised, he put a hand to his chest. “I would never, Bugaboo, all I’m doing is preparing myself in case any lovebugs try to kiss me.”

She huffed. “Well, I’d be a  _ much _ better kisser than any fake Ladybug.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second.” Leaning towards her again, he winked. “Though, it’s not like I have anything to compare that to. Maybe if I remembered kissing you I’d be able to kiss a fake Ladybug and think, ‘hey, the  _ real _ Ladybug’s a much better kisser than that!’”

“If you don’t feel like you have transcended off this very plane of existence, it isn’t the real Ladybug.”

“If  _ any _ Ladybug kissed me, I’d transcend off this very plane of existence.”

“But I’m the real deal. You’ll  _ know _ .”

“Hmm.” He scratched his chin. “Insufficient evidence.”

She scoffed. “This is a stupid conversation.”

“You technically started it, My Lady.”

“You continued it.”

“I’m raising a good point!” he stated melodramatically. “Oh, how will my weak heart resist the temptation of kissing the image of the love of my—”

Ladybug turned him by the shoulders. The deep, decisive line of her mouth left the rest of his sentence to die away. 

This was a bad idea. But she was going to do it anyway.

Still grasping him, Ladybug leaned up, and pressed her clumsy mouth against his.

Immediately, she regretted how cocky she had been — the real Ladybug was  _ not  _ a good kisser. 

Her lips were stiff with embarrassment, and her hands refused to move so long as her eyes were closed. Chat Noir barely kissed back, until, red-faced and trembling, she kissed him again. That time, she seemed to get through to him. He hummed against her mouth, put one hand on her hip and the other on her chin.

“That’s how the real Ladybug kisses,” she said on his lips.

Chat Noir laughed shakily. “She doesn’t feel very experienced.” He wiped his lips with his thumb. “But I have to admit, that was transcendent.”


End file.
